Where ideas come from

May 26, 2010 in Journal with 7 Comments


My neighbor, Dane Carder, is a wonderfully talented artist and photographer. This evening, while our daughters played on the swing set, we talked about where ideas come from. It’s a simple question and everyone wants to know the answer. Hands down it’s the most frequently asked question I receive from readers, specifically about Ted Dekker.

Our conclusion was this: ideas are like viruses. If you’ve learned anything about viruses in school you know they are an important natural means of transferring genes between different species, which increases genetic diversity. They are everywhere. Some drift on the wind while others are carried by hosts from place to place where they come in contact with others. Some die off; some collide with other viruses and mutate into something new. On a rare occasion, when conditions are right and a genetic fluke takes place, a super-virus might result. An anomaly, the biological equivalent of lightning striking in the same place twice…when there isn’t a cloud in the sky.

So, the answer to generating ideas is as simple as this: expose yourself to as many other ideas as possible, because every good idea carries the DNA of multiple others. When they come together, as they occasionally will, then you’ve got something. I’m move convinced of this now than ever. Diversity and cross-pollination (ok, I’m mixing metaphors here, but go with me) are what the entire human idea eco-system is built on.

What that means is you should pro-actively surround yourself with creative people from different industries, backgrounds, and experience. Just this morning I stumbled across an idea from a business writer, totally unrelated to a task  I was working on. Or so I thought until something he wrote sparked a new way of looking at what I was working on. Boom, infected. And something new happened that wouldn’t have.

Writers focus so much energy on surrounding themselves with other writers. And most of them look at the world the same way. They’re infected with the same virus. Maybe what they should be doing is connecting with people through small creative gatherings that include musicians, graphic designers, painters, and business strategists. I’m working on putting something like that together here in Nashville. Something that re-imagines the process and connects people who wouldn’t otherwise wander into each others’ eco-systems. I think good things will happen. Already, some friends of mine have said, “I need something like that. Let’s do it.”

Maybe you should give it a shot where you live. If you do, come back here and let me know how it went. And I promise to report back on my experiment here.

  • http://jsearls.webs.com J.S. Earls

    Very, very cool explanation. And I totally agree.

    I would also add that some people close themselves off from other “influences” because they’re afraid what they come up w/ won’t be totally from them.

    Obviously, that’s a little ridiculous. We’re all individuals so — even if I wrote the next Star Wars movie (yeah, right) it would still have a lot of “me” in it. Even when young writers copy other writer’s styles, some of *them always bleeds through.

    I love multiple art forms and your gathering sounds great. I would also add that “artists” shouldn’t be afraid the hang out w/ “normal” people either. The approval of your peers is great, but — by in large — it’s the “normal” people who are our audience. They’re also quite creative too. Just in more practical ways.

  • http://www.elliottcmorgan.com Elliott Morgan

    Excellent post. I think actors should be especially close to writers, since they’re tasked with bringing raw emotion to life through physical art. Learning to act, I think, is extremely helpful when it comes to the practicality of writing (dialogue, syntax, yadda yadda yadda), as well as the inspirational aspect.

    Also, I agree with Mr. Earls that we should surround ourselves with normal people, as well. Regardless of whether they’re our intended audience, the normal ones are the ones that need us the most. They, after all, lack the creative receptors and emotional outlets that artists provide.

  • Caleb

    Excellent. I’ve always let ideas grow and twist in different directions in my mind. Sometimes that process takes months.

    Just the other night, though, faced with the task of coming up with a story proposal ASAP, I sat down with my wife and started with a germ. By the end of the night, well, let’s just say many infections.

    And they continue to multiple by the day as I brainstorm and talk out loud about the idea. Collective creativity sped up the process — big-time.

    Way to hit the mark, Kevin. You have a way of saying things that stick. Thank you for sharing.

  • Kevin Kaiser

    I’m a verbal processor like you, Caleb. That’s how I connect dots because I can’t hold it all in my head. Not enough room in there, apparently.

    Brainstorming with others has taught me that saying “collaborative creativity” is redundant. Creativity IS collaborative even when we don’t recognize it. All of our ideas are interdependent and cross-inspired. I also think everyone is creative. There really isn’t such a thing as “normal” people. I mean, what’s normal? I’m learning that there are different types of creativity styles. It’s just that we tend to recognize one variety of creativity more than others.

  • http://www.kcreviews.blogspot.com KC

    I would love to know what my “creativity style” is. Though I’m trying my hand at writing, I’ve never thought myself creative at all except in the music field. Are there specific creativity styles or were you just making a general statement?

  • http://www.elliottcmorgan.com Elliott Morgan

    I don’t know if I think everyone’s “creative,” per se. This isn’t an insult to the non-creative out there, nor something for creative folk to be particularly proud of. Normal people are typically the ones in the hospitals saving lives and in the car shops saving cars. They make the world go around, while the artists create art through different media, each acting as a tunnel through which the normal (for lack of a more flattering word) people can process awe, beauty, and other catharses.

    I agree that everyone is creative to an extent. But at the end of the day, each person is right or left-brained, in my opinion. We work together to make the world one big, beautiful place.

    On a separate note, I like how you said “collaborative creativity” is redundant. Makes you wonder how there’s always a lawsuit over big-name books and movies. Someone writes a book and gets sued because they “stole,” it, when in actuality they’re just creating art collaboratively, subconsciously, etc.

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